OMRRA Crowns Schmidt For A Record 9th Time At Portland International Raceway

OMMRA final round was steeped in high drama as many racers were vying for overall and class championships. The weather at Portland International Raceway was unseasonably warm and dry taking the elements out of the equation in the run for points.

In the 2-Fast Track Days Formula Ultra Championship, Alan Schmidt of Kamloops, B.C., entered the weekend 23 points ahead of Kevin Pinstaff of Portland, OR. With the grit one would expect to come from a perennial champion on the verge of making history by winning his 9th consecutive overall championship, Schmidt put the bit between his teeth and put on a textbook run on how to close out a championship on Saturday. Schmidt blasted out of the gates and never looked back. The only time Schmidt was challenged in the two Formula Ultra races was at the start when Anthony Manciu jumped out of the blocks and challenged Schmidt for the lead into turn 1. With lightning starts and the Open Supersport championship under his belt, Manciu showed signs he is ready to challenge the top 3 in Formula Ultra. With Schmidt out front the fight to watch was for the number two plate. Kevin Pinkstaff and Sam Verderico of Wenatchee, WA were separated by 20 points entering the weekend. Pinkstaff didn't need to go bar-to-bar with Verderico as he had all season, he simply needed to finish no more than two positions behind Verderico. In Saturday's contest, Verderico did what he needed to do and beat Pinkstaff by 2 seconds. That left Sunday's contest, where Pinstaff needed to finish in the top five. Not willing to just manage a finish, Pinkstaff put the hammer down and finished ahead of Verderico by 2 seconds snatching the number two plate for 2013.

In KFG Racing/Pirelli-sponsored Clubman Championship news, the fireworks between Ryan Sutton of Camano Island, WA and Andy DiBrino of Tualatin, OR kicked off again in 600 Supersport. This was DiBrino's rookie year and Sutton wasn't about to let the new kid on the block show up his victory laps with three class championships and the #1 Clubman plate under his belt. DiBrino and Sutton locked horns from the start and were embroiled in an epic battle until the two tried to share the same space on lap 9 going into PIR's hard-braking, fast turn 1. Sutton had the spot and DiBrino was on the outs and found himself in the dirt. The 13 second lead over 3rd allowed DiBrino to rejoin the race and hold onto second. DiBrino had to settle for the conciliation prize of setting the lap record for the class at 1:07.603. In their second contest in 750 Supersport, DiBrino lept out of the blocks and never looked back taking an easy win with Sutton's R6 fading into the clutches of Sam Verderico's Suzuki GSXR-750. Verderico's displacement advantage allowed him to run Sutton down and outpace him to turn 1 on lap 8. Verderico kept Sutton at bay and beat him to the line. In Sunday's Superbike contests, Sutton and DiBrino made adjustments to their machines in accordance with Superbike rules. DiBrino put on an electrifying performance, beating Sutton by 4 seconds in 600 Superbike. In the final contest between these two in the 2012 season, DiBrino pulled the pin in 750 Superbike and vaulted his EDR powered Yamaha R6 to the best time ever recorded on a 600cc machine at Portland International Raceway at 1:07.183. Up until that point, DiBrino looked untouchable. However, on the next lap, DiBrino's determination to put his R6 in the 1:06's almost cost him the win. He faltered on the next lap and took the scenic route through the grass and allowed Sutton to make up precious ground. DiBrino would have to settle in, deal with lapped traffic and beat Sutton to the the checkers by just 0.4 seconds. The battle between Sutton and DiBrino electrified the northwest racing scene this year. Both riders took home honors: Sutton with 3 class championships and the #1 Clubman plate and DiBrino having pushed through a season-interrupting hand injury now owns 3 class lap records once held by the greatest champion in OMRRA history, Alan Schmidt. Sutton is expected to return for the full season in 2013. DiBrino, on the other hand, is expected to make as many OMRRA rounds as possible as he plans to take his immense young talent to the AMA Supersport West rounds in 2013.

In other KFG Racing/Pirelli Clubman Championship news, Jason Harper returned and picked up two wins and four podiums in middleweight categories on his Suzuki SV650. Despite a crash that took him out of the September round, Harper's domination had him collecting four class championships by the close of the weekend. Other newsworthy event was the growth of the Ninja 250 grid. A half dozen newcomers arrived with two racers cracking the top five. Thirteen year old Jeremy Coffey put his Ninja on the second step of the box three times in 250 Ninja Cup, Ultralightweight Superbike, and Lightweight Superbike. Coffey nearly took the win in Ultralightweight Superbike but veteran Kelly Johnson beat him to the line by 0.037 seconds. 2012 600 Supersport Senior and 750 Supersport Senior champion, Joshua Melanson, took 5th in the highly competitive Ultralightweight Superbike and Lightweight Superbike contests. The Ninja 250 grids continue to grow with veterans from Vintage, Formula Ultra and other Clubman classes looking to enter the fray in 2013 and go elbow-to-elbow with OMRRA's fastest growing class.

In the Bridge City Cycles Vintage Championship, Cody Wood was absent from the last round with mechanical issues but had enough points in the category to take home championships in 250 Vintage, 500 Vintage and the overall 1v plate. Wood absence gave Patrick Leyshock a taste of dominating the field as he pilot his Yamaha DT1 250 to wins in both 500 Vintage and 250 Vintage securing the 2v plate for 2012. Mica Grohn showed signs of maturing as a racer in her first season by taking the fight to this years' number two vintage racer, Ryan Shanahan. In both 250 Vintage on Sunday, Grohn and Shanahan swapped the 2nd place position multiple times each lap with Grohn taking the honors in both contests (Shanahan suffered a mechanical sending him to the pits briefly in the second contest). As silly season begins it is unclear as to which racers will return to contest the Vintage Championship in 2013.
The Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) developed the two-race per weekend Formula Ultra Championship, the 'your best two classes' Clubman Championship and the two-race per day, Olympic-scored Vintage Championship, promoting safe, competitive road racing in all categories. OMRRA, incorporated in 1972 as a non-profit, volunteer run organization, has members ranging in age from 12 to over 70, racing motorcycles of many brands, sizes and ages. OMRRA operates at Portland International Raceway, a city park and world class track. Our races can be seen and heard by anyone with an internet connection, courtesy of PIRLive.com. The race day schedule is posted just prior to the weekend at www.facebook.com/omrra.racing. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/omrra.racing.